1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wrist and hand exercising device and, more specifically, to a wrist and hand exercising device that is suitable for the rehabilitating and the strengthening of the hand muscles to aid in recovering from and to aid in preventing injuries to the hand or wrist.
2. Background Art
The increase in the use of computers has given rise to an increase in repetitive strain injuries, such as nerve entrapments, tendon problems, and muscle strain. Such injuries are commonly perceived as persistent aches in the forearms and wrists, or pain that may be felt from the shoulder to the fingertips. If left untreated, the soreness can escalate to a permanent partial disability.
Furthermore, there are many instances when patients must undergo hand, wrist and finger exercises as a part of post traumatic treatment. These exercises must be initially performed using very low resistance and then, gradually be performed using ever increasing resistance. Different devices for exercising the hand and wrist are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,655 to Ammon entitled Wrist and Forearm Exercise Apparatus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,052 to Charles entitled Finger Exerciser, U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,327 to Herbowy entitled Hand-Wrist Exerciser, U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,925 to Kock entitled Device for Exercising Muscles Associated with Elbow Tendinitis, Including also the Hand and Wrist, U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,200 to Unger entitled Hand and Finger Exercise Device, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,927 to Rothacker entitled Wrist Wrestling and Exercise Apparatus. Hand exercisers provided in the contemporary art do not provide an exercising device that is easy to store, that allows a user to rest an arm on the device, that is easy to repair, that can have its resistance level easily changed, and that is quick to assemble.
As such, I believe it may be possible to improve on the contemporary art by providing a hand and wrist exerciser that supports a user's arm during the performance of resistance exercises, that is easy to assemble, that has a simplified structure, that is easy to manufacture, that is economical to manufacture, that is easy to change the resistance levels of, and that can perform a myriad of resistance exercises.